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March 08, 2010

Tough Guy Tee

While you haven't seen much of him yet on this blog, this is my second boy - Baden. He is a dream. He's got me wrapped around his baby finger. A few weeks ago he got his helmet. Why? His little head got really flat in the back and then that flat spot shifted to be off-centered. At first I thought it would get better on its own, but it only became worse. We had to take action. He'll wear this for a few months and then hopefully he won't have to be known as that-kid-with-the-weird-shaped-head all his life.

Anyhow, I got to pick what the outside of the helmet would look like. I wanted something that looked tough, so I picked this carbon print. I think he looks absolutely adorable even with this contraption on. It makes me want to dress him like a biker or a skater.

I had a lot of fun making this one. It took some time, but each step was fairly quick and easy. There's just some waiting involved. Here we go:

1) Start with a plain t-shirt. This one was $3.50 at Wal-mart. I put some freezer paper in between the two layers, so nothing would leak.

2) Get out your bleach pen. (Use a new one if yours is a few months old or more.) Draw a random design. You really can't go wrong here. It's really just going to give the shirt interest. It's not the main detail, so don't over think it. The blech pen comes out as a gel, so this is what it will look like when you first finish the design. Click HERE to watch my in-depth video tutorial on the bleach pen. Rinse in the sink thoroughly and then throw it in the wash.

EXTRA INFO: It's a Clorox bleach pen, made for removing stains. It's near the detergent at Target or Wal-mart.

3) Create a freezer paper stencil. For a detailed tutorial of freezer paper stenciling click HERE. Here's my sketch and then a picture of me applying the paint.

4) Iron on metal studs. I found these iron-ons in the craft section at Wal-mart. I realize not every Wal-mart has a big craft section, but you could probably find something like this in any craft store. Follow the directions on the package.

5) Sew on some floss for extra detail. I sewed around the sleeves. I tried to get a close-up picture of the outside of the sleeve as well as what it looks like from the inside so you can figure out how to do this. It doesn't need to be perfect. I think it looks great messy. (More floss ideas soon to come.) It takes a while to do, but it's something you can do in front of the TV. Not a lot of concentration involved.

6) Now you're done! Find an adorable baby to out it on. (I'm totally not biased.)

Now doesn't he look tough? I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley.

Thanks a ton for stopping by. Let me know if you have questions. E-mail me a pic if you try it. Also, feel free to tell me what you'd like to see more of in future posts/tutorials. Have a great day!

I received information about Clorox’s Bleach It Away campaign and am sharing my messy moment/craft fail/bleach project for the chance to win prizes from Tatertots & Jello and Clorox. You can find out more information about this campaign – www.BleachItAway.com. If you share YOUR messy moment story, you can enter to win $25,000 and daily prizes, and you can get a coupon for Clorox® Regular Bleach.

I love the random pattern you did. You keep giving me great ideas. I ran out of time to do mine last week and I finally found some freezer paper. I'm glad I waited so I could see more good ideas before I get started. You rock!

My cousins son had to wear a helmet to. he had to get part of his skull removed, then continued treatment with the helmet. his head healed and now its as if nothing was wrong! keep faith and well keep you in our prayers.

I love this tee and I love your blog - its great to see so many cool ideas for boys. I have two girls and one boy and he always misses out. Im going to give this a go.. just need to find the bleach pen here in Australia.

wow! nice job! and are you serious? what rock have I been living under...I didn't even know that bleach pens existed! Oh the things I will be doing with that! thanks for sharing instructions with us...now off to find that pen!:)Shannonwww.cascobaysoap.blogspot.com

My son also wore a starband helmet for 4 months....just a little flat spot we thought at first, but then after we started to really LOOK at it we knew we had to do something.

I had my moments of "I'm a bad mom," but that came and went fairly fast. Nate wore the helmet from August to December 2006, just a few days shy of his first bday, and although he didn't get a perfect head out of the deal it looks WAY better!

BTW, the best part about the helmet? He learned to walk with built-in cranial protection.

Also, we made some tshirts this weekend using Dana's tutorial....but I'm SO gonna spruce it up with your ideas. Thanks!!!

LOVE this... I already have a few tshirts I was wanting to freezer stencil- I think I need to add 'bleach-penning' and some simple embroidery to the list as well... :)if you're interested, we have a friday fun find party- we'd love it if you'd link up this week!

loved this idea so much I already tried it, but have run into an issue. I made my design on the T with the bleach pen, but instead of it keeping the distinct lines I drew, it all bled together and after washing is just a big faded blob. I used the freezer paper between the layers and waited overnight for the bleach to set. Any ideas on what where I might have gone wrong? Did I let it set too long? Also, I didn't wash the T before trying to bleach it - could that be the problem?Any input is appreciated!! Thanks for these and all you other amazing ideas and inspiration!

What a great blog and cute idea. I am going to try the bleach pen to make a "good bye and thank you" t-shirt for a substitute who has been a long term sub in my daughter's class now in 3 different grades. This is the last time (5th grade now). I'm not sure what I'm going to do exactly but I love this idea. Thanks, and I can't wait to see what other creative ideas you send our way.

We live in Maine and I tend to think that the medical community is a bit behind up here...my daughter's head is very lopsided...I mentioned it to two different pediatricians and they both said that no one has a perfectly round head....we wish that we would have done something but again when I mentioned the helmet the pediatrician said that he had never heard of such a thing! She is 16 months now so its too late but she'll just have to have long hair and thankfully its curly too!

Love your techniques and tutorials. You will be so glad you did the helmut....my friend never really thought to do it and her son's head has become VERY lopsided and misshapen. I think for a boy it will help a lot also to have a better shaped head for short hair and to fit into helmuts for athletics and such. Good for you! Love your blog!

Hi there! I came across your blog from the UCreate blog and will definitely be following! Your little guy is adorable! My son, who is now two, had a helmet for several months to fix plagiocephaly on the side of his head. He wore the helmet for maybe four months? and his head is beautifully round now! :)

such a great idea for a shirt. My daughter had a flat spot on the right side of her head. We chose not to do the helmet because the doctor didn't give us much to go on. We instead did physcial therapy among a few other things and it worked! How is the little guy doing with his helmet now?

I love your idea. This turned out so cute! And the green stitching adds just the right touch :)

We've been busting up our stash like crazy and are really enjoying it too. http://theartistshouse.blogspot.com/2010/04/repurpose-your-scrap-wood-into-great.htmlhttp://theartistshouse.blogspot.com/2010/04/turning-old-skirt-into-reversible-bag.html

OK I am doing something wrong! My bleach marks where I have used the pen comes out huge!! Like 1/2" wide! How do you get the bleach to not bleed so much? I am barley squeezing it but it still seems to ooze after I let it sit for awhile... HELP!!!

I did this last night on two t-shirts and noticed a HUGE difference based on the weight of the fabric - the thinner the fabric, the more it will bleed! At least that was the only difference I could tell!

A "regular" weight t-shirt should work just like the tutorial, but my daughter's thinner t-shirt bled a ton (but still looked cool because I used bigger shapes).

I don't know what's tougher - the hard core helmet or the sweet green paci with butterflies! :) This shirt is truly ingenious. I would have never thought of using a bleach pen to stain a shirt! And the embroidery stitching at the bottom (as well as the studs) are just the icing on the cake.

LOVE this! my little guy gets his helmet on tuesday. =) they didn't offer me any cool prints like this, so you'd better believe i just put a call into the doctor's office to see if they have any options like this!!

Oh my gosh! This is such a cute idea!!! We just had our little boy 3 months ago and I've been looking everywhere for crafty ideas for little boys... it seems to me there are tons for little girls... anyways thanks so much for sharing! He looks WAY tough indeed :D

He is just the cutest thing!! My little boy had what we called the "flat head" thing going on for a few months when he was a baby & we even talked about doing the helmet but it ended up popping out so to speak on its on. Helmet or not, that chunky monkey is adorable!!

I stumbled across your blog while looking for cool hats for boys. Then I saw the pic of your little man. Our little guy is getting fitted for his helmet in a couple of weeks. Hoping it works to push his ear back where it belongs and round out his flat spot. Anyway, I LOVE this T-shirt! Do you sell these at all? I'd LOVE to by one for my little guy and maybe even his big brother.

Wow! You are amaaaaazing! I love the crafty stuff you do, especially with clothing! I've just been told my clothing budget has been slashed, so I'm looking for ways to make what we have stretch further. My oldest daughter and I will have a blast doing some of this stuff! Thank you for sharing your great ideas! Your boys are adorable, BTW! LOVE the helmet.

OMgoodness - what a cute little boy! I love this tee! I've been addicted to freezer paper stencils lately and my kids (including the boys-8 and 4) love when I make them a new tee. So rewarding. :o) I'm attempting my first bleached stencil - My 4 year old asked for Chewbacca! We'll see if we can accomplish it! Thanks for the tutorial!

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